IF YOU HAVE EVER BEEN AT THE FINISH LINE OF AN IRONMAN, you will know the famous line that is repeated by the announcer as each emotional and overjoyed athlete crosses the finish line: "YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!". On Sunday night at 10:30 pm Glen Paradis crossed the finish line and as his coach, I was emotional, overjoyed, and darn proud to be able to repeat those words too!
Glen...YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!
Mont Tremblant Ironman was supposed to be Glen's inaugural Ironman after years of preparing to complete this grueling event. When COVID hit, we spoke about doing the Ironman on his own, and with his contagious smile and humble positive energy, he agreed that he would like to do it anyway.
Local businesses have been hit hard by COVID and Glen's Barnstormer Tattoo Studio has been no different. Amazingly though at every coaching meeting, he remained positive that things would turn around. In the middle of the lockdown, he made the decision to relocate his studio on Bank St and reopen in a bigger space to allow for social distancing. Glen is an incredible artist and leads a group of other artists at the studio who have a waiting list of people to get in to see them.
With all of this craziness going on, Glen needed an outlet and Ironman training was the perfect fit. He stuck to his coaching plan all Summer even though we could not gather as a triathlon club. He went at it on his own with the encouragement of his amazing wife Brigitte. Having the self-discipline to complete the long hours of training is a challenge in itself but without a "real" finish line so many athletes threw in the transition towel but not Glen.
On Sunday when Glen headed out for the 4km swim in Meech Lake he had no idea what to expect. Brigitte made sure he had the support he needed all day with fuel, hydration, and encouragement all the way. She also enlisted good friend Jill Taylor to do some of the 180km bike ride with him, and a neighbourhood cheering squad with posters, glow sticks and a finish line!
Glen persevered to the finish line in the dark and lonely streets which were a stark contrast from the cheering crowds of Mt Tremblant. The last 10km of the 42km run is tough under normal circumstances but he battled it out knowing that he just had to keep moving forward. As he got closer to the finish line the emotions of pride were building for us all as we started to grasp the immensity of what Glen was accomplishing.
As I said to him at the finish line, we now know you have the mental and physical toughness to do anything you put your mind too.
Congratulations Glen!!
We are all so proud of you.
I love the accountability and the structure of the Virtual 70.3 Half Ironman training program. I don't think I would have gotten this far without the program. The accountability is huge for me!
Deborah Jackman
My coach Kevin Willis is amazing. His swim practices have been a real game-changer for me. A great communicator regardless of your swim level. The whole club is supportive of everything you do. You don't need to be an Ironman to benefit from their programs. 5 stars all around!!! - Denise Pittuck
I just wanted to thank you and your team (Gabi! Brenda! Maggie! Dawn!) for making last weekend's event so amazing. I had tried to do a try-a-tri on my own last summer, and the experience was night and day.
Even though I didn't make every virtual session, I felt so prepared... I knew where to go for information, and I knew I had a team of people (coaches and our beginner tri group!) who were all there to support me.
It was interesting to watch Eric train on his own (without access to the TrainingPeaks workouts and without the weekly meetings to ask questions and learn more about proper form and race-day stuff). When we left on Sunday, he looked at me and was like "we're DEFINITELY doing the training with Julia if we decide to go for the olympic distance, right?".
So glad to have found this club and looking forward to many more triathlons in the near future!!! Tai Teleso
